KIEV, Jan. 26 – Ukraine’s desperate attempts to win resumption of a $15.5 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund ended in fiasco Thursday with the lender twice refusing to do so over the past three days.

KIEV, Jan. 26 – The parliamentary election campaign will intensify in early spring and will become even more active in late April, when single-member constituencies are formed, the Committee of Voters of Ukraine has forecast.

KIEV, Jan. 26 – Naftogaz Ukrayiny is expecting that large international companies will take part in a tender to assess the Ukrainian gas transport system.

KIEV, Jan. 26 – Wealthy Ukrainian businessman Oleksandr Yaroslavsky will be the general partner of the seventh Davos Ukrainian Lunch on January 28 as part of the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2011 in Davos-Klosters, Switzerland.

KIEV, Jan. 26 - Prime Minister Mykola Azarov said there was no progress in talks with Russia over changing a 10-year natural gas agreement that Ukraine believes is unfair and must be amended.

KIEV, Jan. 26 – President Viktor Yanukovych and Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan signed a joint declaration to establish a high-level strategic council between Ukraine and Turkey among other measures boosting mutual cooperation.

KIEV, Jan. 26 - The Ukrainian National Security and Defense Council has made a decision on the appointment of the head of the printing house which will be responsible for printing the ballots for the upcoming presidential elections and the measures to ensure the security of the ballot production process.

KIEV, Jan. 26 – Serhiy Tyhypko, whose voters could decide the outcome of the presidential vote next month, on Tuesday again refused to endorse either Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko or opposition leader Viktor Yanukovych.

KIEV, Jan. 25 – New Russian Ambassador to Ukraine Mikhail Zurabov has presented to Ukrainian Foreign Minister Petro Poroshenko copies of his credentials, which are addressed to Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko.

KIEV, Jan. 26 – The National Bank of Ukraine has used $11 billion from its gold and forex reserves since October 2008 to stabilize the national currency and service the country's foreign debt, NBU First Deputy Head Anatoliy Shapovalov said at an extraordinary meeting of Parliament on the central bank's activities on Monday.